Problems That Follow Us
by rhcprule
Summary: The whole CSI:NY gang go on a trip to the wilderness after a stressful few months. Sounds familiar, right? One twist, it takes place right fter 4x16-Right Next Door. How will the team deal with their issues? Rated for some swearing. This is my first fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

_Takes place post 4x15 - Right Next Door, but ignores the rest of the season after that._

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything._

**Chapter 1**

It was quiet in the New York Crime Lab. No new cases had come up, so all of Mac's team were catching up on overdue paperwork, and were becoming quite restless.

In her office, Lindsay was trying to concentrate on her computer screen, which was proving to be quite difficult, as her mind kept on slipping away to the previous day's events. _Dammit Lindsay. _She thought. _Concentrate, don't let it affect your work, be professional. He obviously has no problem doing so, so why should you? _She was in an especially bad mood, because in two days it would be the anniversary of her friends' deaths-thirteen years that day.

She looked over at Danny, and saw that he was lost in his thoughts. _Probably thinking about her, lately that's all that has mattered to him. _She subconsciously clenched her fists at the thought, images flashing through her mind, of them together, kissing, touching, moaning each others name…

"Linds-"

"I'm working." She snapped.

Danny sighed, and turned back to his work. He was wondering if he'd ever be able to talk to her, so they could work it out. They hadn't properly talked since her heart-breaking declaration yesterday, and it was eating him up on the inside. He knew that she knew, by the way she'd stormed off yesterday when he'd arrived late. He wanted to explain that it was a one-time thing, a mistake, that he wasn't a cheater, but he just hadn't got the chance.

There were a couple of knocks on their open door.

"What's up Adam?"

"Uh, Mac wants to see us now, says it's important." He replied.

The two occupants of the office stood up. Lindsay turned of her desktop, and Danny capped his pen. They both followed Adam out of their office, Lindsay keeping her head down. The three entered the conference room, where Mac, Stella, Flack, Jess and Hawkes already sat, waiting for them. Danny closed the door behind him.

"Alright," Mac started. "Now everyone's here, I'd like to tell you something. I have noticed that these past months have been very stressful for all of us. I have talked to the Chief, and collectively we have decided that for the benefit of everyone, we will take a relaxing trip to the wilderness of Montana."

Everyone's heads snapped up to look at Lindsay, their resident Montana native, who just looked up and rolled her eyes, and stayed silent, not really reacting to this news.

"What?"

Stella's eyebrows rose at the nonchalance of the woman in front of her.

"I don't know," Flack started. "I just thought you'd be a bit more excited at the prospect of going to Montana."

Lindsay sighed and shrugged her shoulders, looking down at her lap.

Mac cleared his throat. "Ok guys, I want you to go home now and prepare for the trip. We'll be leaving in two days, so I'll expect you here, bright and early, 6 o'clock sharp on Thursday, or we'll leave without you."

They all stood up, and left the office. Lindsay was walking briskly towards the locker room, trying to avoid Danny as much as possible. Still, Stella managed to catch up with her.

"Hey kiddo."

"Oh, hey Stell, what's up?"

"We have the day of tomorrow, right? Well, most of my stuff got destroyed in the fire, so I'm going to go shopping for some things for the trip. Can you come with me?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll pick you up. You're staying at the Pennsylvania Hotel in Midtown, right?"

"Yes."

"Ok then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you, Linds."

After Lindsay walked off, Stella sighed. She knew something was really wrong with her friend, something more than it being close to the day of her friends' deaths. She had a niggling feeling it had something to do with Danny, and if anything she was going to find out what happened to make her friend so despondent.

**Well, that was chapter 1. Thanks for reading. Please Review!**

**rhcprule**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything._

**Chapter 2**

Lindsay sighed as she followed Stella through Bloomingdales. Personally, she wasn't really a fan of shopping, but she'd agreed to go with Stella because she needed a distraction from her thoughts.

"So Linds, what do you think?"

She was suddenly startled out of her thoughts. She had no idea what Stella was saying.

"About what?" She said, confused.

Stella chuckled, "This trip. It's really going to be something, I can't wait. I've never been to the country myself; it's going to be such a wonderful experience, just being out in the open, fresh air, it'll be so relaxing!"

Lindsay, at any other time, would have agreed with her, but this time, she was far from pleased. Going to Montana at this time of the year would be extremely difficult for her. She did not need those memories to resurface, to follow her and haunt her, like they did ever since the murders, especially not with what was happening with her relationship – if she could even call it that anymore – with Danny.

The two women arrived at the café finally, Stella being happy to put down all her bags, and Lindsay just wanting to sit down.

Stella sighed. "Alright kiddo, what's going on?"

Lindsay, not wanting to talk about it, replied, "Nothing's going on Stell."

Stella, however, knew better. "Linds, how do you think I'm a detective? I know something's wrong, so spill, otherwise I'll call Danny and ask him what the hell's going on with you two. And you know me, I will do it."

Lindsay shouldn't have been surprised. Stella was one of the most observant people, and she worked with New York's finest. Not only that, Stella was stubborn as hell, and would stop at nothing to find out what was going on. She sighed, slumped her shoulders and looked down at her lap, fiddling with her things.

"Come on kiddo, you can talk to me," Stella prompted, noticing Lindsay's resignation.

"Well, you know that Danny's been having a difficult time with Ruben's death," she started. "He told me to give him some space so he could deal with everything, so I did. But then…" she trailed off.

"Go on, kiddo, what happened?" Stella asked

"He, uh, kinda forgot my birthday," she replied.

Lindsay saw the anger flash in Stella's eyes. "He did what?! Oh my God, I can't believe it!" She kept her voice low, but it emanated all her anger at this piece of news she had just received.

"Yeah, I mean it's not a big deal, right? He's a guy; he's programmed to remember sports stats and steak sides, not his girlfriend's birthday," Lindsay replied somewhat despondently.

Stella was about to contradict, but then she saw in her friend's eyes that the story was far from finished.

"Well, you know the day of the fire in your apartment building?" Stella nodded. "After I finished processing, I called him to see if he wanted to get some lunch. He rushed me of the phone, telling me he was busy and couldn't have lunch with me. I was about to hang up, but then I heard…I heard a woman in the background."

Stella at once clued in to what Lindsay was trying to tell her. "No Linds, don't tell me that - "

"He cheated on me Stell!" she burst out, her voice suddenly full of emotion. "He cheated on me. I should have expected it, I heard all the rumours. And you know the worst thing, he didn't even tell me."

"Oh Linds," Stella sighed, putting her arm around her shoulder as a sign of comfort.

"I mean, if he'd just told me that our relationship was over, I would've been okay…well I wouldn't have been okay, but I would have understood. But that's not even the worst bit Stell. On the same day, we were in our office…"

_**FLASHBACK STARTS**_

_**Danny and Lindsay were in their office, they had both put their phones down.**_

"_**I'm gonna get some coffee, you want some coffee?" **_

_**Lindsay didn't look up from her desk. "No thanks." **_

_**Danny sighed and shook his head. "How long are you gonna stay mad at me Lindsay?"**_

"_**Oh, is that what this is? Me mad at you?" she snipped, still looking at her work. **_

"_**Is it still about missing your birthday? Look, I didn't want to go to lunch yesterday. Why do you gotta make a big deal out of it?" he asked**_

_**She'd had enough of his nonchalance. He just didn't understand. "Do me a favour Danny; don't reduce me to some shallow clingy girlfriend that's starting to suffocate you, ok. That's not what this is about! Ever since Ruben Sandoval died, I feel like I've lost my best friend. And don't mistake this for jealousy, ok. I know what it's like to lose someone you care about, to see them one day and not see them the next and to know you'll never see them again. I would never expect you not to grieve but clearly you've just decided to do it all on your own."**_

_**She took a deep breath, saw that he had nothing to say, and finally said, "Ok, I get it."-she got up to leave, and said, the pain tangible in her voice: "My mistake for thinking that you might need somebody to lean on. And you know, for the record, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself because I've fallen in love with you and I have to figure out how to let that go."**_

_**She looked at his blank face, then opened the door and stormed out.**_

_**FLASHBACK ENDS**_

Stella sat their, shocked at this revelation. Clearly, she had underestimated how much Danny could hurt her poor friend, who had done nothing to deserve any of it. She took a few deep breaths, trying to get her head round to story.

"So let me get this straight," she said. "Danny pushes you away, forgets your birthday, _sleeps with another woman_, and when you tell him you love him, he says nothing?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Lindsay chuckled weakly. "I suppose it's my fault, though. I should've tried harder to be there for him, but I didn't and now here we are."

Stella was not surprised at what Lindsay had just said. Generally, Lindsay was a selfless person, and more importantly, she saw no fault in anyone. She held the world on her shoulders.

"Kiddo, it's absolutely not your fault for what happened. You can't blame yourself for this."

Lindsay just nodded.

"Tell you what," Stella continued. "How 'bout we get a couple of coffees, then we can go catch a film?"

Lindsay nodded, feeling slightly better after her talk with Stella.

"Uh Stell, one thing?" she said, just as Stella was about to get up.

"Yeah?"

"Could you, uh, tell Jess what happened…I mean, what I just told you, but not tell anyone else, please?" Lindsay asked.

Stella immediately said, "You got it, kiddo."

**That's the second chapter. The flashback is directly quoted from 4x16 – Right Next Door.**

**Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for the reviews! _

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything._

**Chapter 3**

It was Thursday, 6:05 a.m and standing outside the crime lab were all but one of Mac's team, with mixed emotions on their faces. Mac had his usual stoic face on, Hawkes was visibly excited, a wide grin spread across his face and his eyes alight, despite the early hour. Flack was quite unsure about this trip, having lived in the city his whole life; he wasn't sure whether the country was really much to his liking, and Adam had his usual nervous face on. Danny had a guilty and confused look on his face, as a result of the furious glares he was receiving from Jess and Stella. He was pretty sure he knew what they were about.

Lindsay was about a hundred feet from the entrance to the lab, and was walking slower than usual, dragging her bag along with her. She wasn't looking forward to this trip, and she was especially tired because she'd had a gruesome nightmare before, the one that came every year around this time. Yes, this day marked the thirteenth anniversary of the untimely deaths of her three best friends. About two minutes later, she arrived at the lab.

"Hey guys," she muttered. "Sorry, I'm late, my alarm didn't go off."

Mac nodded in acknowledgement, and walked towards the minivan that would take them to the airport, and be theirs for the next week, the rest of the team following him. Lindsay sighed as she saw Stella and Jess' pointed looks, telling her that they saw the dark circles under her eyes and they were going to talk about it.

After they'd loaded their bags, they all got on the van. Jess decided to sit next to Lindsay instead of Flack, so that Lindsay wouldn't have to sit next to Danny. She knew that she wasn't ready. Stella was sitting next to Mac, she would have liked to talk to Lindsay, but Jess was a better person to talk to at the moment.

Flack gave Jess a weird look, silently asking why she wasn't sitting with him. In response, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, "If I sat next to you, Linds would have to sit next to Danny. He's done some bad things to her, so try to get him to talk about it, k?"

Jess went back to her seat, just as the van started to move, and looked at Flack. He nodded in agreement. Jess turned to the woman next to her who had her earphones plugged into her ears, her eyes closed, though Jess knew she wasn't sleeping.

_7:42 in the morning, eight seconds before it all sinks in_

_Put your best face on for the world, fake another smile and just pretend_

_But you're just putting off the pain_

_Nothin's ever really gonna change_

_Huh,_ Lindsay thought, _how appropriate. _She could've laughed. She didn't even like this song, it always depressed her so much, and now it was practically the theme song to her life. _Well, I suppose now I can't get any more depressed._

Now that she thought about, it was kind of funny, in an ironic way. A man named Daniel ruined her life thirteen years ago, breaking her heart irreversibly, only for another man with the same name, to pick up the pieces, glue them back together, and destroy them again. _Well now, that has to be bad luck._

About four hours later, Lindsay was in the same position she was on the coach, eyes closed, ear buds plugged into her ears, trying to relax, while being several thousand feet in the air. Only this time, she felt a couple of pairs of eyes on her. She opened her eyes, and looked forward, finding the bane of her existence staring at her. She glared at him until he turned around and slumped back into his seat. Looking to her side, she saw Jess staring at her, eyes full of concern and a hint of curiosity. Sighing, she took her earphones out, and asked,

"What is it?"

"Are you ok?"

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Apart from having my heart shattered into a million pieces, I'm fine, thanks."

"No need for sarcasm, thank you," Jess replied, mock stern in her voice. "I mean, you look really tired, and you were late today, and I didn't believe that alarm clock excuse for one second. So talk."

Lindsay sighed, about to contradict, but then realised that if she kept it all in, she would eventually break down. _No need to look weak in front of the one person able to break me._

"Well, you know, this time of year is always the hardest," she started. "You know April. Actually, today is usually the worst. You know it's the anniversary of my friends' murders today?"

"Oh my God, how could I forget? I'm so sorry!" Jess spluttered. She could only imagine what Lindsay was going through right now.

"Thanks. Yeah, well with this whole thing going on with Danny at the moment, and with all the memories, I couldn't really sleep last night. It was all those thoughts, spinnin' around in my head. I mean, I thought after the trial, after I saw that son of a bitch get what he deserved, that I'd finally found some closure for my self, y'know? I thought I'd finally recovered, but now, I feel the same as I did that night thirteen years ago, only about a million times worse!" She felt the tears coming, and she tried to blink them away, but it was no use.

Jess felt her own tears coming on as she let what her friend had just said sink in. That much emotional trauma was too much for one person to handle, even someone as strong as Lindsay was. She fished in her pocket for some tissues, handed one to Lindsay, took one for herself, and placed them on her lap, knowing that the both of them would need it. The let themselves go.

Lindsay looked at the window, and saw her's and Jess' reflection in it. She laughed mirthlessly. "Oh God, we look a mess, huh?"

Jess looked at her reflection, gave a small smile, and nodded. "Yeh, I guess we do. Let's go sort this out."

They both got up, and walked down the short aisle to the bathroom, passing Flack and Danny. Flack, taking one look at them, not knowing that something was wrong, burst out into a fit of chuckles.

"Hey ladies, you guys remind me of – "

"Yeah, yeah, we look like pandas, and you look like your dog. Ha ha. Now if you don't mind..."

Hearing the broken tone in Lindsay's voice, Flack looked at Jess in concern, who just shook her head, and followed Lindsay to the airplane's surprisingly large washroom, where hopefully they would come out looking happy, and not as if they'd just had one of the most heartbreaking conversations they'd ever had.

**Well that's chapter three.**

**I don't really know why I went with the whole Jess crying think, it wasn't my plan, the words quite literally wrote themselves.**

**The song (in italics) is Let it hurt by Rascal Flatts, it's a great song, check it out if you haven't already. **

**I'm sorry there isn't any DL interaction yet, there will be soon, I'm getting there! But first, I might to the conversation between Danny and Flack, but it'll be quite short. Tell me what you think, should I do that, and then go on with the story?**

**Review!**

**rhcprule**


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Thanks for the reviews!_

_I'm not going to do the Danny/Flack conversation at the moment, but I might include it in the outtakes of this story (if I have any.)_

_I just looked over chapter 1, and I saw that I put '4x15-Right Next Door'. It's actually 4x16, just to save any confusion._

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything._

**Chapter 4**

The team had finally arrived in Montana, and finally realised the massive difference between New York and Montana. The usual beeping car horns and sirens weren't the only things missing; they also got to smell the fresh, unpolluted air of the quiet country. Mac was right; this would be a relaxing trip.

Danny looked over at Lindsay, who was leaning against the window inside the van, and saw her looking out the window, with a blank expression on her face. They were passing what looked to be a market area, a lot of stalls selling goods, from buffalo meat to freshly-picked wheat and corn.

Lindsay suddenly felt her insides turn to ice as she saw the unmistakable spot in the distance. _Manny's Diner._ She couldn't believe that place was still there. _Surely a quadruple homicide would put them out of business. Obviously not._

_**FLASHBACK STARTS**_

"_**Oh God Mandy, stop! I can't breathe!" a fourteen year old Lindsay panted between her laughter.**_

"_**No, no, I'm serious," Mandy replied, also laughing, regaling with her friends the story about her step-mother. "She actually ran around the house, looking for the 'abnormally large spider' that was lurking within!"**_

_**The four girls laughed as they shared stories.**_

"_**Did you know," Kelly started. "That there's a fraternity group comin' here for vacation, from...drum roll please…New York City?"**_

"_**City folk?" Dina asked, somewhat sceptically."They'll never survive here. They'll take one look at our wheat fields and run for the hills. Wait, wait, nah, they'll run back to their little sport sedans and get the hell outta here!"**_

_**The girls laughed. "Well, as long as they don't start insulting the country life," Lindsay countered, "'Cuz if they do, I'll kick their asses all the way to Mexico and back."**_

_**FLASHBACK ENDS**_

Lindsay sighed as she thought of one the many wonderful memories her and her friends had made at their favourite diner, and then the last, horrifically tragic one. Lindsay had never stepped foot in that diner after that. She let a lone tear run down her cheek at the thought of her friends. _Why God, why?_

"Linds?" a voice nudged her out of her thoughts.

"Huh, what?" Lindsay shook her head, trying to clear her mind, quickly wiping away the tear.

"Mac wants to talk to us," Jess replied.

Lindsay looked out the window, and saw that they were parked just out of the Gallatin National Forest. She was familiar with the area. She looked back towards the front of the van, just as Mac stood up and turned around to face the rest of his team. "Alright guys, we're here. As most of us have never been camping before, I have made sure that four cabins have been reserved for us. Obviously, do the math, you will be sharing a cabin with one of your fellow colleagues. The pairs are non-negotiable, and are as follows: Me and Stella Bonasera, Cabin 1," Stella couldn't hide her grin at this.

"Jessica Angell and Don Flack, Cabin 3."

Jess blushed as Don winked at her.

"Adam Ross and Sheldon Hawkes, Cabin 2."

The two grinned and high-fived each other.

"And last but not least…"

_Oh no_. Lindsay thought. _No, no, no, this means…_

"Danny Messer and Lindsay Monroe, Cabin 4."

_Shit._

Jess looked at her sympathetically, and Lindsay just sighed and held her head in her hands. _Perfect, now I won't be able to avoid him. I know this is Stella's doing, dammit!_

Danny, on the other hand, was extremely happy about this. _Yes! Now I'll be able to talk to her, and set things straight. Maybe this trip won't be so bad after all._

Mac pulled put out a large map. "Ok. Here,"-he pointed to the big circle on the map- "is the main centre, where you will have your meals, and you'll be able to find any equipment you'll need her as well. Here,"-he pointed to the 'X' closest to the circle, but still quite far away from it- "is mine and Stella's cabin. Here,"-he pointed to the 'X' a bit further away from the circle- "is Adam and Sheldon's cabin. Here,"-he pointed to 'X' even further away from the circle- "is Jess and Don's cabin. And finally,"-he pointed to the 'X' furthest away from the circle- "is Danny and Lindsay's cabin. And Lindsay, don't roll your eyes at me, you sleep in the cabin or you sleep outside."

"I'd rather sleep outside," Lindsay muttered under her breath.

Mac ignored her and carried on. "There will be quite a few activities that we'll be doing during the daytime, some with you cabin partners, and some with the whole team, and in the evenings, we will decide what we want to do by a fair vote. Got it?"

As chorus of "Yes Mac" sounded through the van.

"Alright guys," Mac twisted his wrist to look at his watch. _11:15._ "it's pretty late, and we've had a long day, so let's hit the sack. We meet at the main centre for breakfast 8:00 a.m."

The team got out of the van, retrieved their bags, and a map for each pair from Mac, and joined together in their respective pairs. Lindsay was standing next to the entrance of the forest, waiting for Danny, while he was approaching slowly, trying to figure out the map.

"Do you want me to take your-"

"I've got it," she interrupted, knowing exactly what he was going to ask. _It's gonna take a lot more than offering to take my bag to get me back, Messer. _She huffed impatiently, and snatched the map away from Danny, knowing exactly how to get to their cabin.

"Follow me."

She walked off, leaving him behind.

"Stop staring at my ass and get a move on, Messer!" she shouted, not looking back. "It's not my problem if you get lost."

Danny chuckled under his breath. He was so predictable.

**Yes, I know, hardly any DL interaction here, but there will be in the next chapter, promise!**

**I know the flashback is pretty random, came out of nowhere, but I needed something to keep it flowing.**

**Yeah, partners are pretty predictable, right? I was originally going to have them in tents, but cabins are a bit more private, I think they're a bit better if they want to sort out their issues.**

**Lindsay seems a little OOC here, I think. Oh well.**

**Anyway, Happy New Years Eve!**

**Review!**

**rhcprule**


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Thanks for the reviews! Don't worry, I'm not going to give up on this story._

_Happy New Year!_

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything_

**Chapter 5**

_Danny and Lindsay's cabin_

Lindsay managed to open the large wooden door of the cabin that would be her home for the next week. Despite the time, and the person she was with, she smiled, for the first time in a long time.

_Wow, she's so beautiful when she smiles. _Danny thought, smiling inwardly himself.

"Well Montana," he said, calling her something he hadn't in a while, "this actually aint so bad. The cabin's pretty nice, don't ya think?"

Lindsay merely nodded, her good mood now completely vanishing into thin air.

Danny sighed, "Come on Linds, you're gonna have to talk to me sometime," his voice somewhat pleading.

Lindsay's eyes flashed. _How dare he? He is such a hypocrite!_ He'd refused to talk to her for the past month, and now all of a sudden, she _had_ to talk to him. That was anything but fair in her book.

She left her reply short and simple: "Not now I don't." And with that, she stormed off down the hallway to the find a bedroom.

Danny dumped his bag near the door, suddenly exhausted, and collapsed on the couch behind him. He knew from the moment she'd made her revelation in their office three days ago, that it was going to be a hell of a challenge to get her back, since he had messed up so much, and had betrayed her in the worst way possible, and had gone back on every promise he had ever made to her. But he knew she was worth it, no, she was _more_ than worth it, and though he knew he didn't deserve her, he knew that if I didn't try his hardest to get her back, he'd regret it every day for the rest of his life.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

"For God's sake Don, just admit that we're lost." Jess was at her wit's end. They were stuck in the middle of the damn forest, and it was pitch black, and cold.

"No," he defiantly replied. "I'm not going to admit that we are lost because we are _not _lost!"

Jess huffed, her breath making a puff of smoke appear in the bitter air. "What is it with you men? You can't even admit any weakness, because you're too macho for words." She sighed. "It's always the same with you good-looking ones."

Don's cheeky grin then spread across his face at Jess' words. "So you think I'm good looking?"

"Out of everything I said, you pick up on that! Do you even know where we are?"

Don puffed his chest. "Of course I know where we are," he replied indignantly.

"Alright then, where are we?" She'd known for the whole journey what was wrong, but decided to let him answer anyway.

His cheeky grin faltered, but he was not about to admit defeat. "Well," he turned the map in his hands, "we are," his pointer finger trailing across the laminated surface of the map, and finally stopped, and said, "here!"

"The map's the wrong way, genius," Jess said, and then doubled over, bursting into a fit of laughter and holding her stomach.

"Ok, fine then," he huffed, dumping the map into her hands, "you try it then."

Don watched as her eyebrows furrowed in concentration _Hey, that's kinda cute._

"Well," she said after a while, "it turns out we are way past our cabin, it will take us at least half an hour to get there if we tried. But the good thing is, we are close to Danny and Lindsay's cabin, so I think it's best if we crash there tonight, and then we'll pass our cabin on the way to breakfast."

"Sure, whatever you say," he replied, quite distracted by the way the moonlight bounced of her face, making her look like an angel in his eyes.

"Don, Don," Jess clicked her fingers in front of his face, trying to get his attention, but not succeeding.

"DON!"

"Huh, uh, I was listening," he stuttered, shaking his head from side to side.

"Whatever's on your mind, this is more important, let's move!" she snapped, suddenly quite pissed at him. She flounced of, in the direction of Danny and Lindsay's cabin, with him on her heels.

* * *

_Danny and Lindsay's cabin, five minutes later…_

Lindsay was now pottering around in her room, unpacking, throwing her stuff across the room, tripping over her stuff, swearing under her breath in annoyance, when she heard a hard, policeman's knock on the cabin door. _Who the hell could that be?_

She heard the distinct creaking of the old wooden door opening, and voices in the front room, and decided to leave her room as it was for the time being. She rushed down the hallway, and saw two familiar figures with their backs to her.

"Uh hey Don, Jess, what are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be in your cabin?" Lindsay asked the question that she knew was on Danny's mind too. No doubt, she was happy that her two friends were her, but was more than slightly confused.

Jess huffed. "Yes, we should be at the cabin, but a certain, infuriatingly stubborn _someone_ got us lost so we-"

"Hey, I didn't get us lost! You could've told me the map was upside down, you knew the whole-"

"Well, it was pretty damn obvious to any sane person that the map was the wrong way round! Does _everything _have to be spelled out for –"

Danny knew that if he didn't interrupt them soon enough, their argument would turn into world war three.

"Guys, guys," he stepped in, holding his hands up as a sign of peace between the two. "I think we get the picture. You can stay with us tonight. There are only two bedrooms, so I can share mine with Don, and Jess can share with Linds. Does that sound fair?" As much as Danny wanted to share a bed with Lindsay, he knew it wasn't appropriate, and would make her feel more than uncomfortable.

"Yes, that's fine, thank you," they both said at the same time, looked at each other, and burst out laughing. Lindsay rolled her eyes at their antics. _Well, it's safe to say that they're crazy, but I guess that's what love does to someone._

Lindsay went over to Danny, who was leaning against the doorframe, his back to her, and said, "That was really nice of you to let them stay here."

Danny jumped. surprised by the sudden communication from Lindsay, but thanked her anyway. They both then walked off to their respective rooms, Don and Jess following them, feeling that now things were a little less awkward for them.

**I know I promised you some DL interaction in this chapter (there was hardly any, I admit) and I planned on having a lot of that, but I thought I might add some humour in here as well (it seemed likely that Don and Jess would get lost), it seemed to flow better. I would promise you guys a lot for the next chapter, but it seems that I can't stick to my promises – things don't always go to plan. :(**

**Anyway, review!**

**rhcprule **

**P.S. Sorry!**


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: Thanks for the reviews!_

_Sorry for the late update, I was out all day._

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything_

* * *

**Chapter 6**

* * *

_**It was eerily quiet when the bell sounded; telling Lindsay someone had entered the diner. She felt a sense of dread fill her stomach, and tried to ignore it, shaking her head. She went back to washing her hands.**_

_**And then she heard them.**_

_**The shots.**_

_**One.**_

_**Two.**_

_**Three.**_

_**Four.**_

_**Five.**_

_**Each as poignant as the last, they created a resounding echo in her head. She heard steps, get louder and louder.**_

_**Closer and closer.**_

_**She kept her head between her knees, back against the door, clamping her mouth shut, knowing that she wouldn't be able to stop the screams that would ease their way out, making her presence known to whoever was out there.**_

_**She waited, breathing in an out, seconds ticking by like days, until she heard the foot steps quieten, and eventually diminish as she heard the distinct sound of the bell ringing, and the door closing.**_

_**She could not stop herself from shaking as she slowly opened the bathroom door. She screwed her eyes tight, not ready to see what was there in front of them.**_

_**Finally, opening them, she saw it all.**_

_**She did not cry.**_

_**She did not gasp.**_

_**She just stared.**_

_**Stared at Mandy, lying slumped on the chair, blood seeping from her stomach, landing on the chair, on the floor, creating a daunting crimson puddle on the ceramic tiles.**_

_**Stared at Kelly, on the floor, face up, bullet wound on her forehead, hair matted with blood.**_

_**Stared at Dina, slumped, head on the table, blood oozing from her back, staining her shirt.**_

_**Stared at the waitress, Sara, in a sitting position against the wall, blood trickling down her face.**_

_**The sheer horror of what she had just seen did not make her gasp.**_

_**What was there, next to her, did.**_

_**A man, fairly tall, short light brown hair contrasting with his now pale skin, blue eyes, glasses, crooked nose, blood dribbling from his chest, swimming in the large pool of crimson that lay next to him.**_

_**No.**_

_**She looked at her reflection in the glass window, and staring back at her was not a teenage girl.**_

_**Far from it.**_

_**Staring back at her, was nothing, but her twenty-nine-year-old self.**_

_**She looked back at the body below her, took two deep breaths, and let out a blood-curling scream.**_

* * *

Danny wasn't sure what woke him up, the feel of the unfamiliar bed, or the abrupt scream erupting from down the hall.

However, what he did know was that nothing was going to stop him from sprinting down the hallway, and bursting through the door, because the scream he had heard could have only come from one person.

The large mass on the floor stirred, confused, rubbing his eyes.

"Wha's that?" his speech slurred from having just been woken.

"Uh, nothing, nothing, just go back to sleep," Danny was quick to reply, not wanting Don to follow him.

Seconds later arriving in front of the door, finding it slightly open, he peered in, to see Jess attempting to comfort a hysterical Lindsay, who was visibly shaking, making the fast jumble of words spilling from her mouth turn into a mass of jargon.

Of course, he had tried to stay silent.

And, of course, it was safe to say that he had failed, as Jess' head rapidly turned in his direction, not looking into her eyes as his were focused on the smaller woman who's whole frame was trembling.

He was about to step in, when Jess – almost inaudibly, as to not alert Lindsay of Danny's presence – whispered, "Go!"

Still refusing to take his eyes of Lindsay, he was quick to contradict. Leaving was the last thing on his mind.

"I said go!" she ordered, still whispering. "At the moment, you are definitely _not _the right person to comfort her, so, like I said twice, and are going to say again, go!"

Danny was about to argue again, but as Jess' words sank in, he realised that she was right. Lindsay was in an extremely vulnerable state right now, and with the pending status of their relationship, he would feel as if he would be taking advantage of her. Hanging his head like a scolded puppy, he treaded slowly back to his room.

"So really, what's up?"

The voice of his friend startled him, making him jump in the air, resulting in his head almost colliding with the low top of the wooden door frame.

"Jeez, don't do that," he hissed, clearly annoyed. "I could've got a concussion!"

Don rolled his eyed at Danny's dramatics, and with slight mirth in his voice, said, "Yeah yeah, whatever you say. Seriously though, stop avoiding the question."

Danny sighed and shook his head, sinking into the plush mattress of the double bed, his hand rubbing over his face. "Lindsay had a nightmare, I think."

Don's concern in his eyes matched the one in his voice with his next question. "Is she okay?" He was not only concerned about Danny, but Lindsay too. It was clear that she had been distressed for quite a while now.

"Well," Danny cleared his throat, "I don't think so, I mean, I only got a glimpse of her before Jess practically kicked me out, but she looked far from alright."

"Wait, wait, Jess _kicked you out?" _he repeated incredulously. "Why?"

"She said that I was _"not the right person to comfort her"_," he sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Well, she is kinda right, if you think about it," Don replied carefully, not wanted to rile Danny up, "I mean, you did hurt Lindsay pretty badly, she probably wouldn't want you to comfort her anyway. I'd say you just leave her alone for now, let Jess help her."

He sighed in relief when he saw that Danny was not angry with him. "Relationship advice from you, Flack?" he asked, laughter in his voice despite the situation.

Don shrugged indifferently. "Meh, stranger things have happened Messer."

Danny's eyebrows rose. " Dude, did _you_ just say _"meh"_?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

Don huffed, and lied back down. "Go to sleep Messer."

Danny chuckled softly and lied down, closing his eyes, his thoughts of Lindsay as he drifted off, soon becoming dead to the world.

* * *

**Again sorry for the delay, and lack of DL interaction for that matter. There will most likely be some in the next chapter.**

**Just to clear up any confusion, the dead man in the diner was supposed to be Danny, just thought I'd say that.**

**Anyway, review!**

**rhcprule**


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: Thanks for the reviews!_

_I'm so sorry about the absence of an update yesterday :(. I woke up really late and had a clarinet lesson and was revising, and I ran out of daylight, literally, I was up till 2 in the morning revising. Anyway, I'll try and not repeat that without some notice beforehand._

_Warning: The f-word is used in this chapter._

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything_

* * *

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Lindsay sighed and blinked slowly as she felt sunlight stream between the thin curtains onto her eyes. She shook her head, realizing that she'd have to get up sooner or later. She turned her head slowly to the alarm clock that would be standing on the side table, surprised when she found that it wasn't.

Then she remembered that she wasn't at home anymore, but in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Literally. She then rolled her shoulders and raised her left arm above her eyes, squinting as she tried to read the time on her watch. _7:30._

At seeing this, she literally flew out of bed, and threw on the first thing she could find, almost tripping as she made an attempt to run and pull on sweats at the same time. _No no no, it'll take at least forty-five minutes to get to the main centre, and Mac said eight o'clock. Crap!_

She speeded out of the door, banging it into the wall in the process. Not that she cared. Just as she was about to reach the cabin door, she realized that her three co-workers, who were dressed similarly to her, standing in the front room, waiting, for her, presumably.

"Oh, hey, uh sorry guys, I guess I overslept, anyway, let's go!"

They all shrugged indifferently, but looked on at her in concern, knowing that she most likely hadn't slept because of the nightmare. Seeing the concern plastered all over their faces, she rolled her eyes, slapped on a fake smile, and said, "Come on guys, I'm fine, let's go, we're already late."

Unconvinced, but eager to have breakfast, the trio followed her through the thick Montanan forest.

* * *

_40 minutes later…_

Mac tutted, and checked his watch for the fifth time in five minutes. He, Stella, Adam and Hawkes were all waiting in front of the main centre for the four people that made up the rest of their team. He huffed, and turned to the tall Greek women next to him.

"Where the hell are they?" he asked, knowing that she wouldn't have a straight answer, "They were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago."

Stella chuckled at the usual stressed out Mac, "Oh give them a break, they probably got lost on the way or something. They'll be here soon. Besides, we're here to relax, so don't stress so much."

Mac rolled his eyes at Stella's diplomacy, "Why do you always have to be so reasonable?"

Stella laughed, finding the whole situation quite humorous herself, and simply replied, "It's part of my charm, I guess."

They heard the rustling of the trees, and then voices that accompanied the four figures that had just arrived.

"We're so sorry Mac," that was Jess

"Yeah, we didn't mean to be late," that was Danny.

"It's just 'coz Lindsay-"Flack added, promptly being cut off.

"Lindsay nothing. Sorry Mac, it won't happen again," that was Lindsay, not wanting even more people to be concerned for her.

"You're damn right it won't," Mac replied, agitation leaking into his voice. "You guys are late one more time, and its desk work for a week, got it?"

"Yes sir," the group of four chorused.

"Don't call me sir."

* * *

The group were sitting at a rectangular table, with Mac at the head. Lindsay was sitting next to Jess and Stella, though not really close to them, opposite to Danny, much to her distaste.

"Come on Linds, talk to me," Danny pleaded.

No reply.

"Linds."

Again. no reply.

"Montana, come on."

Lindsay lifted her head from her breakfast,, which made Danny happy. _Yes, I got her to talk to me._

"Don't call me that."

She looked back down. He huffed in exasperation.

"Oh come on Linds, your givin' me nothing here," he pleaded.

She suddenly snapped, and looked up at him, her eyes blazing. "Nothing, nothing? What was a month of ignoring my phone calls, giving me lame excuses as to why you couldn't go out with me, and practically using every chance you had to avoid me huh? Was that not nothing?"

Danny sighed, and looked into her eyes, "Linds-"

"I'm not finished," she snapped. He promptly shut his mouth.

"I tried to be there for you Danny, and you shut me out. Actually no, not only me, you shut out _everyone_. Mac, Flack, everyone that wanted to be there for you. Hell, your mother even phoned me up and asked why you hadn't talked to her in three weeks. I've never even met the woman, and she was telling me that she thought you were dead! Is that really how you treat the people you love? You've got to start realising that what you do affects the people around you, Danny, and what you did, by shutting them out, was hurt them.

"And yes, I understand that you were hurting over losing Ruben, and you felt guilty. But you didn't even let me help you. Hello, Danny, remember me, the girl who saw her best friends get shot right in front of her eyes? I know survivor's guilt, Danny, I've lived through it for the past thirteen years, and it eats you up on the inside. But what helped was surrounding myself with people that I loved, who I knew I could count on. But no, in your world, all that mattered was Rikki!"

His eyes shot to hers, filled with surprise and guilt.

"What, you think I didn't know? I have been cheated on before, you know, and it's pretty damn obvious when my boyfriend rushes me off the phone, and I hear a woman's voice on the other side of it. So what was it? Did you pity her, was that it? Were you feeling guilty, and you wanted to repay her the only way you knew how? Or you just sensed a damsel in distress in need, like you did with me two years ago, and comforted her the only way you knew how? Were you even thinking of me as you fucked her? No, of course not, what am I thinking? It's Danny Messer, New York's playboy, incapable of a monogamous relationship. I guess I should've listened to the rumours, but I thought you were different from that. You had _shown_ me that you were. But I guess I was wrong."

Danny blinked, once, twice, three times, at the speech that Lindsay had given him. He really hadn't realised what he had done. _Wow, am I really that selfish?_

"Linds, please, just-"

"No, Danny, no," she hissed. "It's never going to be okay that you cheated on me, and never even thought to tell me."

It suddenly went silent on the table.

Conversations stopped.

Cutlery clattered onto plates.

And six pairs of shocked eyes stared at the two people in front of them.

* * *

**Dun dun dun. Lame ending, I know, but I couldn't resist**, **I just love all DL-related drama! I know that Stella and Jess already knew about the whole cheating thing, but I thought it'd be more dramatic to have them all shocked. **

**I know, I'm mean, ending it there, but I promise a new chapter with more DL interaction will be posted tomorrow, but for now, I'm leaving it there. hehe**

**Anyway, review!**

**rhcprule**


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: Thanks for the reviews_

_I'd like to just say that on the last chapter when Lindsay is ranting at Danny, she is whispering, but then on the last sentence she says it loud enough – by accident - for the table to hear._

_This chapter carries straight on from the last one, hence the 'previously' thing._

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything_

* * *

**Chapter 8**

* * *

_Previously…_

"_No, Danny, no," she hissed. "It's never going to be okay that you cheated on me, and never even thought to tell me."_

_It suddenly went silent on the table. _

_Conversations stopped. _

_Cutlery clattered onto plates._

_And six pairs of shocked eyes stared at the two people in front of them…_

* * *

It stayed silent for a while; it was so quiet she could've sworn that she heard crickets chirping in the distance. Lindsay counted herself lucky that they were the only people in the room; she didn't want the whole world to know about her problems. But then again, she didn't exactly like the idea that now the whole team knew what had happened between Danny and her. _Really Lindsay, you had to go and say that with everyone right there. You share a cabin with each other; you could've waited till then. Now, everyone is staring at you. Dammit, this guy really brings the worst out of you._

Danny shifted in his seat, his palms becoming sweaty as he became uncomfortable under the eyes of six of his co-workers, who now knew how he had hurt Lindsay, and he wouldn't blame them if they hated him forever. Hell, he knew he did.

And then the reactions came.

"You did what?!" that was Adam.

"Oh my God I can't believe it!" that was Flack.

"How could you do such a thing?" that was Jess.

"You cheated?" that was Hawkes.

"Why?" that was Stella.

Mac could sense how uncomfortable Danny and Lindsay were with their personal lives out in the open. So he decided to cut in. He cleared his throat, silencing them, and said, "Guys, that's enough for now, at the moment this discussion is not appropriate. We have teambuilding exercises in a few hours, so get back to your _own _cabins, do what you need to do, and meet back here at twelve. Got it?"

With Mac's glare, they realised that it would be pointless to argue, so they all nodded and headed out of the breakfast area. Lindsay, still feeling quite embarrassed, all but ran from the room, so that she could avoid any awkward conversations for now.

* * *

_Mac and Stella's cabin_

Stella, having been the first to know of what Danny had done, was not as surprised as the others with the recent news. However, she was quite angry. Having been brought up again, the idea of what Danny had done disgusted her, and she had a right mind to go to Danny and give him the what fore, but Mac had forbidden it, so she had no choice but to stay in her cabin. Stella also knew that with Mac saying _"do what you need to do", _he was subtly hinting that Danny and Lindsay go and talk it out between each other like adults, hopefully to sort it out.

Mac, despite having no previous knowledge of Danny's actions, was not quite as surprised as he should have been. It was not because he knew Danny would cheat on Lindsay, he did not think that of his colleague. As much as Mac tried to stay out of his team's personal lives, he could not help but notice how dejected and un-Lindsay-like Lindsay had been.

Her eyes lacked that certain mischievous-yet-innocent sparkle that they usually possessed, her aura no longer carrying her cheerful attitude on life. He knew something was wrong, and despite how much Stella thought he was clueless on people's love lives, he knew something had been going on with Danny and Lindsay in that department, and her sudden turn of attitude may have been a result of something going on in their relationship.

Mac had to be honest; he was quite disappointed in Danny now that he had found out what he had done. He knew Danny was overcome with grief because of the death of his neighbour's son, but that was definitely not an excuse for betraying Lindsay that way. Though Danny was like a son to him, Lindsay had become like a daughter to him – especially since her family was halfway across the country – and it pained him to see her so distressed.

* * *

_Adam and Hawkes' cabin_

Adam did not really know much about Danny and Lindsay, but even he knew that there was something between them that was more than friendship. So now, he was overcome with shock at what he had learnt about Danny's actions. He was even more surprised that he had found out the way he did. Lindsay was a very private person, more so when regarding her social life, so saying it loudly for the whole table to hear was really out of character for her.

Hawkes never ever thought that cheating was okay, no matter the situation. He himself had been cheated on before, and that kind of emotional and physical betrayal had caused him a lot of suffering. But Danny cheating? He had to say that he never saw that one coming. It was true that Danny had had his fair share of one night stands in the past but those were not proper relationships. Hawkes always thought that Danny's relationship with Lindsay was the real thing, and Danny was known to be loyal to the people he truly cared about, so messing it up like that, that had to mean that something was seriously wrong with Danny.

* * *

_Don and Jess' cabin (yes, they found it)_

Don was Danny's best friend for a solid six years, but even so, he couldn't deny his anger at what his friend had done. He had reverted back to his old selfish ways not realising that this time, it wasn't all about him. He remembered the conversation which he had had with Danny, trying to get him to talk about what he had done to Lindsay.

_**FLASHBACK STARTS**_

_**Don was sitting on the plane, on the way to Montana, sitting next to Danny, who had yet to say a word. He remembered clearly what Jess had whispered to him earlier.**_

"_**He's done something bad."**_

_**Don sighed, this wasn't the first time that he had to pull Danny's head out of his ass, and he knew it wouldn't be his last. Danny could be pretty self-absorbed sometimes and good kick in the ass was usually what he needed to clear his head and see thing clearly.**_

"_**Danno-", he was cut off, rather rudely, by Danny.**_

"_**What?" he replied, clearly exasperated, "are you gonna give me an earful as well? 'Cuz if you are, don't worry, Stell had you covered on that one, so jus' leave me alone, a'ight?"**_

"_**You really don't grasp how badly you messed up, Dan, do you?"**_

"_**Well, it's me, Danny Messer, it's in my name to mess up," he replied, trying to keep the conversation light.**_

_**Don pulled at his hair in frustration. "Y'know Danno, you don't realise if that Linds wasn't there for you, you would've got fired?"**_

_**Danny's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "What the hell are ya talkin' 'bout man?"**_

_**Don was ready to wring Danny's neck. "Geez Danny? She covered you for Mac, told him you were sick. He obviously knew she was lyin', but gave her the benefit of the doubt seein' how upset she was. Also, why the hell d'you think I was there tryin' to stop you? Linds asked me to check on you, said your weren't answerin' her calls, she was worried sick, and I did it, 'coz the look in her eyes damn near broke my heart. Hell, I've got better things to do than go traipin' around followin' your ass half way across the city all day.**_

"_**You gotta realise that the world doesn't revolve around you, you can't do anything you want and not expect there to be any consequences. Your hurt her a lot that day, you know that?"**_

"_**Yeh, yeh course I do."**_

"_**Ok then, pull your head out your ass and fix this!"**_

_**With that, Danny looked back down the plane, where Lindsay was trying to sleep, and could see the bags under her eyes. She must have caught him staring, because she opened her eyes, and gave him a withering glare which had him slumping back into his seat. He knew it was going to be hard, but it wasn't impossible.**_

_**FLASHBACK ENDS  
**_

He watched as Jess paced the front room of their cabin, muttering a string of curses under her breath, some of which he knew weren't English. _Whoa, she can speak French! That is hot._

"Jess, Jess?"

If she heard him, she did not acknowledge it.

"JESS!"

"What?" she snapped not in the best of moods.

Don decided to tread carefully here, since he could see that Jess was quite angry, and he didn't want to be on the wrong end of her wrath. "Uh, well, are you ok?" He didn't really know what else to say.

Jess sighed, frustrated, turned around to Flack, and pinched the bridge of her nose as she shook her head. "No, of course I'm not ok. My best friend is completely heartbroken, thanks to your best friend, and now she is stuck there in a cabin with him! I can't believe he did that to her. Does he even realise that yesterday was the anniversary of her friends' deaths? She was already having a really hard time with that, and now this. Aargh, I hate feeling so helpless!" She started pacing again.

Don frowned at this, but walked over to her and put his hands on either own of her shoulders, to get her to stop pacing. "Hey, hey, hey," he soothed, "Don't stress so much. Lindsay may be going through a really tough time now, but she's a strong person, she's been through a lot. Besides, maybe them being in a cabin will force them to talk and work things out."

Jess blinked slowly a couple of times, staring up at Don in surprise, he began to get a little insecure.

She chuckled, "Oh, nothing, nothing, just never thought I'd hear wise words come out of your mouth."

He put his hand on his heart, in mock hurt, and said, "Hey, I can be wise you know."

She chuckled again, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

* * *

Lindsay sighed, holding her head in her hands as she thought about what had just happpened, She couldn't believe that she had just outted her problems lie that in front of everyone. _Yay, now everyone is probably judging me, and thinking of how stupid I –_

"Linds?"

"What?" she asked, her voice somewhat defeated.

"Shouldn't we talk?"

"About what? How I just embarassed myself in front of everyone we work with, that now _everyone _knows how much you betrayed me?

"Linds, please, you know what I mean!"

She was close to tears, but she would not let him see her weak. "Why Danny, why did you do it? Why did you sleep with her? Why didn't you tell me? Why couldn't you come to me? Was I not good enough for you?"

Danny's heart broke at what she had just said. _Not good enough for me? She is too good for me. _He was quick to reply."No Linds no, how could you think that?"

Lindsay snorted. _How could I think that? How stupid is he?_

"Well then, what was it?"

Danny was finding himself speechless, he had no idea what to tell her, he was never a man for words. However he realised that if he wanted another chance with Lindsay, he was going to have to try and explain.

"Linds, firstly, I've just gotta say that what I did with Rikki"- his voice went quiet at the last word-"was a mistake, and I really do regret it. It's just my mind was so clouded with grief, I wasn't thinking properly. I just remember she came to my apartment in tears, tellin' me that she missed Ruben so much, and I jus' felt so guilty, and we talked about him,and I was jus' walkin;' her to the door, an' she kissed me. I don't know why, but I didn't stop, and next thing I know…" he trailed off, not wanting to say it, even though they both knew exactly what he was going to say.

"You were sleeping with her," Lindsay finished, her voice emanating only a fraction of the hurt she was feeling. She watched as she saw him wince at what she said. "What? That is what happened, right? Was it good?"

Danny froze, and his voice came out clipped, though inside he was shocked and appalled with himself, since she had the right to ask this question. "What?"

She leaned from one foot to the other, and said, "You heard me, I said, _was it good_? It's a simple question? Did you like it? Did you scream her name as you climaxed?"

If Danny was appalled before, he was horrified now. He did not want to answer these questions, but he knew that she would keep asking and asking, and would get even more suspicous each time she did.

"No Linds, no, it wasn't about that. I was too out of it to even know I was doing till after I did it!"

Lindsay was quiet for a minute while she let those words sink in. She had to admit that she was a tiny bit relieved to know that he had no feelings of love for this woman, but she was still hurt that he had betrayed her so easily and hadn't told her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

That question had been playing on her mind ever since she had figured out what he had done. She wanted to know why he didn't have enough respect for her feelings to inform her, why had he lied through her teeth to her. A little _"Lindsay, I slept with another woman" _should've sufficed.

Danny gulped. He knew this question would be popped out sooner or later, and he had not been looking forward to answering it. What was he supposed to tell her?

"Uh, well, it's just, I didn't want to hurt you even more," that had sounded _much_ better in his head.

"So you decided lying would be better? Danny, I_ heard_ that woman through the phone, right as you were throwing me some flimsy excuse as to why you couldn't have lunch with me. How stupid do you thin I am? Lying to me probably hurt me even more than cheating on me."

He only just managed to stifle a gasp at what she said. _I have hurt her much more than I thought. I am such a jerk. _"I'm so sorry Linds. I know I have no excuse for what I did, and I know I hurt you so much, and not just by cheating, but with everything. The avoiding you,the shutting you out, everything, and I would do _anything _to take it back, and it hurts so bad 'coz I know I can't. But do you think that you will _ever _forgive me?"

Danny rocked back and forth on his heels waiting for an answer.

"Danny, I took me this much to talk to you, I don't know how long it will take you to forgive you, if I can. I am not saying that I will never forgive you, but now, I am going through a lot of stuff, so I'm not ready. Will you be able to give me some space at the moment?"

Danny, grasping at any oppurtunity of any possibility for them to get back together, said, "Of course."

Lindsay, knowing that that did not need a response, nodded politely at Danny, and walked back to her room to get ready for the day, realising then that although she was still hurting over Danny, they had made a lot of progress, just by talking.

* * *

**Phew! That took **_**ages**_** to write, but I really wanted to include the DL conversation since I've been holding out on you with that so much, and it took me a while to figure out what they were going to say. I hope I didn't make it to cliché.**

**The responces are kind of anticlimatic, I think, just because I didn't want a massive showdown going on with the whole team, it seemed quite inappropriate and OOC for all of them.**

**Yes, the flashback was the Danny/Flack conversation that I was thinking about writing. I thought I'd just slip it in in this chapter, seemed to fit. I did incorporate a tiny bit of Chapter 3 into it, if you squint.**

**Anyway, review!**

**rhcprule**


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